Scholarship Information
Building Community. Growing Leaders.
Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation offers the following scholarships to support local students
The Patricia Tanner Scholarship – For Cypress Hills residents pursuing a 2-year degree or trade certification.
The Cesiah Toro Mullane Scholarship – For Cypress Hills residents pursuing a 4-year degree
2025-2026 Timeline
Monday April 7,2025: Applications Released
May 2025 (Date TBD): Application Clinic [Virtual]
Saturday, June 14, 2025,11:59PM: Applications Due
Friday, July 14,2025: Scholarship Recipients notified
Saturday October 4,2025: Scholarship Celebration
PATRICIA ANN TANNER SCHOLARSHIP FUND
Patricia Ann Tanner was one of the founders of the Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation. Pat and her husband, Roger were the longtime owners of Werner & Acker/Cypress Hills Florist on Jamaica Avenue and Crescent Street and were leaders of Andrews United Methodist Church and local merchants associations. As a founder of CHLDC, Pat had the vision and the fortitude to set our organization’s course for over 27 years. She volunteered tirelessly from 1983 through her retirement in 2010.
Pat served as the Treasurer of our Board of Directors for many years and then our Board President for six years, tripling our programming and budget, and then leading our housing subsidiary corporations for another ten years! Her commitment to community service, giving young people opportunities and supporting neighborhood small businesses is an inspiration to us all.
The Patricia Tanner Scholarship awards two $1,000 scholarships to two new first year Cypress Hills’ residents who exemplify Pat Tanner’s values and life. The scholarship may be used for tuition, books, travel, and other college/certification related expenses. The scholarship is intended to support financially needy students pursuing a 2 year Associate’s degree or Trade Certifications.
CESIAH TORO MULLANE SCHOLARSHIP FUND
In honor of the late Cesiah Toro Mullane, former President of the CHLDC Board of Directors and passionate community advocate, we offer two scholarships a year to current college students from the Cypress Hills community. Cesiah was one of the founding members of CHLDC and a strong supporter of helping neighborhood residents further their education. We are proud to continue her legacy by supporting our students in their efforts to complete college!
To be eligible, students must be enrolled in our College Persistence programming and are chosen on the basis of academic performance and a demonstrated commitment to community service. Most of our scholarship students are the first in their family to go to college.
Learn More about Cesiah's Impact
Jerry Toussaint, Class of 2019 at Binghamton University:
Jerry is one of our scholarship recipients from 2015. He graduated from Transit Tech Career and Technical Education High School in Cypress Hills and now attends Binghamton University where he is a freshman studying mechanical engineering.
Jerry’s goal is to earn a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering and work for a leading aerospace company. He credits the Cesi Toro Mullane scholarship fund award with helping him adjust to college life while learning to budget money, and motivating him to continue achieving.
On his career plans, Jerry says: “I hope that I can encourage other people of color to pursue careers in the sciences,” and advises other young people to find a career path that will help them “wake up in the morning happy because you’re doing what you love.”
If you’re looking for a particular service, but don’t know the name of the program, head to the “How Can We Help You?” page where programs are sorted by the service they can provide to you or your family.